Discovery of Fanfiction
by ZizhunWriter
Summary: Henry writes a Star Trek fan fiction story, and asks Archie to read it. This leads to Archie discovering Red Cricket fan fiction. What happens when Ruby walks in on him reading it?


**Author's Note: Huge thanks to Kedi for letting me include their stories in this. I do not own OUAT or any of Kedi's stories. I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Archie sat at his table, eating lunch alone, when Henry slid into the seat across from him. The psychiatrist instantly knew something was wrong, judging by the shy look on the boy's face. "Henry, are you okay?"

"What, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Archie didn't answer the rhetorical question; he just watched as Henry fidgeted slightly. He knew, from years of counseling Henry, that he would tell him what was bothering him, eventually. "Well, it's just, I don't think it's any good."

Now Archie was puzzled. "What do you think isn't good, Henry?"

He sighed, staring at the table rather than his friend. "Do you like _Star Trek_? You know, the original series, with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy?"

Startled by the change in topic, it took Archie a second to answer. "Uh, yes, I do. Actually, I just discovered it recently, but it's becoming one of my favorite shows." The psychiatrist refrained from asking Henry how this pertained to the topic. He knew the teen would get there in time.

"Well, so, I had this great idea, for what could happen to the characters, you know? So, I wrote the first part down and put it online, but no one's reviewed it yet! They must think it's terrible."

"Wait, so you wrote a story about the Star Trek characters, and you put it online for other people to read?" Henry nodded, but Archie still wasn't quite sure how that worked. "Um, could you show me, Henry?"

"Sure. Can we go to your office?"

"Of course." After asking Ruby for a to-go container, Archie left the diner with Henry, curious to see how this all worked. Once in his office, Henry sat down on the couch and pulled out his laptop. Archie sat down beside him, and reminded himself that he really should actually use the computer he'd bought a few months ago. Honestly, though, it was just easier for him to do his paperwork by hand, so his laptop usually stayed in his briefcase, having only been used four times; an average of once a month.

After going onto the internet, Henry picked a website from his favorites bar. " ," Archie read aloud. "Is that what they call it?"

"Yeah, when people fans write stories about the shows they like, it's called fan-fiction."

"Oh, okay." Archie watched as Henry selected the _Star Trek_ category, and then clicked on a story, most likely the one he'd written.

"So, uh, do you want to read it?"

"Of course." Archie gently took the laptop from Henry's hands. He was always very careful with technology, as if a wrong move would destroy it.

Henry watched anxiously as the psychiatrist read his story. He didn't really know what had possessed him to put the story online, but he'd really wanted others to see it, and like it. Of course, the lack of reviews indicated that he shouldn't have put it out there; no one seemed to like the story he'd worked so hard on.

Archie found he was impressed by how well Henry portrayed the characters and how intriguing the plot was, even if his writing style could use a little improvement. However, all things considered, Archie found the story to be a great start to an adventure.

"Henry, this is amazing."

"Really?" Henry asked, uncertain if Archie was telling him the truth, or if the psychiatrist was lying to him because he didn't want Henry to look down on himself.

"Yes. I'd love to read more." Henry was smiling now, but it faded somewhat once he remembered the psychiatrist was the only one who liked it.

"Well, I'll tell you when I post the next chapter." Archie wasn't oblivious; he knew Henry was still doubting the quality of his work. Which was why, the second the boy left his office, Archie pulled out his own computer. Perhaps he could review the story, and give Henry an extra confidence boost.

It took him a second to find it, but one he remembered Henry's username was OperationWrite, it didn't take him long. He was about to review it as a guest, when he paused, mouse about to click the send button. This felt an awful lot like lying, and if Henry found out, he'd just be even more disappointed. Archie couldn't do that to him, but he really wanted Henry to feel like others were enjoying his stories.

That's when the idea struck. What if, instead of reviewing the story himself, he got other people in Storybrooke to review it? That way, he wouldn't be tricking Henry, and he would still have reviews for his story.

Archie started to think of who he'd tell as he hit the back arrow, hoping to get back to that Google thing. It went to the page he'd been on previously, and after hitting the back button a couple more times, he found himself looking at the screen where he'd selected _Star Trek: The Original Series_ as the category he wanted to look at. However, _Star Trek _wasn't the only choice. There were literally hundreds of television shows he could pick between; one of which caught his eye.

He had no idea what _Once Upon a Time_ was, but it looked intriguing, so he clicked on it. It took him to a page filled with stories, this time about the characters from this television show. He wondered what type … wait a second, was that Emma? He scanned the descriptions, seeing not only the savior's name, but also Killian, Regina, Robin, Rumpelstiltskin, and Belle. Was this television show about them?

He clicked on the filter button on the top, like Henry had done to make it easier to find his story, and looked at the list of 'characters,' which was just a list of every villain and hero he knew, organized in alphabetical order. Curiosity was certainly getting the better of him now. Instead of stopping and forgetting about it, like he knew he should, he found he wanted to know what other people thought of them. That was when he saw his name, Archie H./Jiminy Cricket. And of course, he made that a filter, and clicked on it. Sure, people might think terribly of him, but he couldn't help himself. He had to see what people were saying.

Almost three hundred stories had him in it, and he felt extremely flattered that so many people would write a story about him, even if it was just a tad creepy. He looked at the stories, overwhelmed and not knowing which ones to click on, when one caught his eye. It was called _All I want for Christmas_, and it was written by someone named Kedi. What he first noticed about it was the little bird in the picture, but then, he actually looked at the description. "'Tis the season of presents, food, and good company… But above all else, 'tis the season of love. (Written for the 2014 Red Cricket Holiday Bash)." Needless to say, he was instantly confused. He figured the Holiday Bash part indicated that it had been written for Christmas, like the title said. However, what was a Red Cricket? Deciding that reading the story might help him find out, he clicked on it.

He read, with avid curiosity, but when he got to the part where she kissed him, he felt his face turn scarlet. So that was what Red Cricket meant; it meant him and Ruby, as a couple. Of course, it also meant his face becoming Ruby's favorite color. He just stared at the end of the story for a second, wondering. Did Ruby really like him back? Well, it was an encouraging thought, anyway.

Unable to help himself, Archie clicked on the Kedi's name, and found their list of other stories. He started to read "Christmas classic," inwardly scolding himself for hoping he kissed her in this story, too.

* * *

"Someone left this here," a patron informed Ruby, handing her the umbrella that she'd thought everyone knew belonged to Dr. Hopper. She looked at it for a second, a little shocked that he'd be caught without it.

Well, she supposed she'd better return it to its owner, and now was as good a time as any, since the lunch rush had just ended. "Granny, I'll be back in a second!" she called.

"Alright," her grandmother agreed. Ruby walked over to his office, and was about to knock on his door when she realized it was slightly ajar. He must have forgotten to close it after his last patient had left. So, she rapped on the door and opened it at the same time, feeling comfortable letting herself in since he obviously didn't have any patients with him at the moment. If he did, he would have remembered to close the door.

"Hello, Archie." He jumped, face going from white to red in half a second as he quickly slammed his laptop shut. Ruby had no idea what he'd been doing that would elicit such a reaction out of him.

"Ruby, hey." He was trying so hard to sound casual, but his voice was a higher pitch than normal, and his face was just growing redder as he spoke.

"So, what were you doing?" she asked, curious and happy for the chance to tease him. She hadn't thought it was possible for his face to get any redder, but he was proving her wrong every passing second.

"Uh, nothing. I mean, it's, I shouldn't have …"

Realizing she wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him, she walked over to his computer and opened it. She heard him groan as she tried to figure out what had made him so embarrassed. "Christmas classic," she read the title of the page aloud. "What, do you think reading about Christmas in February is something to be ashamed of?" She stared at him, flabbergasted, as he shook his head, staring at his feet. Obviously, she was missing something; he shouldn't be reacting this strongly to this. So, seeing the writing was pretty short, she started to read it.

At first, she was startled that the story was about them, and it was something they'd never done. "Archie, did you ..."

"God no," he said quickly. "I would never write this. I, Henry introduced me to this website. It has stories about lots of different television shows; ones that the fans write about it."

"Wait, so our lives are in a television show?"

"Apparently," he shrugged. "Ruby, I'm sorry, I was just curious, and I won't read it anymore, alright?"

Now her curiosity was peaked. "Why? What does it say about us?" He didn't answer, just looked back down at his feet again, so she continued reading. It was once the story referred to Archie as her boyfriend that she understood what was going on. "This story portrays us as a couple," she stated.

"Look, I was just curious, and now that I know, I'm not going to …"

"Do you actually like me like that?" Ruby interrupted, stopping him in his tracks.

"Erm, well …" If the flush on his face was anything to go by, the answer was most certainly yes.

"Because, you know, maybe Kedi's onto something." His head shot up, and he looked straight into her eyes.

"Wait, do you …"

"Yes." Now she felt her face start to turn a little pink. She'd never told anyone about her crush on the town's psychiatrist, mostly because she'd always thought it was absurd. Now, however, it seemed he felt the same way.

"Would you want to go on a date sometime?" he asked, finally. The normally confident Ruby smiled shyly.

"Sure."

Then, he was grinning, a full out smile, and it was contagious. Her small smile grew, until they were both grinning like idiots. "You know," Archie commented, walking over to his computer, "we should thank Kedi."

"I think you're right." Ruby watched him as he typed "Thank you," into the review box, and posted it. "They're not going to know what that means."

"Well, it doesn't matter. We do." She smiled, wanting to hug him but wondering if that would be to forward. After all, they'd just started dating a few seconds ago. Then, she started to wonder …

"Wait a minute Archie, did we kiss in the story?" His face instantly grew red again.

"We kissed in both of them," he muttered.

"You know what, I think I just figured out what we're doing for our first date." She picked up the laptop, and brought it over to the couch. "We're reading all of Kedi's stories about us."

"Alright," he agreed, coming over to join her.

"And maybe, after we're done, we can recreate some of the scenes." He blushed, and at first she thought he was going to ask to take it slow.

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."


End file.
